Kiyokiba Shunsuke - Believe/Boku no Mainichi

Kiyokiba Shunsuke's fourth single, Believe, was made as the official song for the 2006 A3 Champions Cup, a soccer tournament held between the domestic league champions of China, Japan, and Korea. This purpose quite affects both the expectations and the reality of what the song is like. Different from Shunsuke's other works, Believe is a cheering song, albeit laid back to suit his personal style. Believe opens strongly with powerful guitars and a chorus chanting 'Ole ole'. Strangely enough, this chanting really adds to a positive listening experience, rather than being a throwaway effect and creates a catchy hook for the listener. The melody throughout is confident; it combines the typical singer-songwriter guitar and strings but it sounds assured through a stronger bass line and Shunsuke's vocals compliment the melody well. Some may find Believe another bland example of male soloist work, but the confidence displayed marks it as being different from the rest.

The muted, by comparison, Boku no Mainichi is a gem. The sliding guitar effects underlying the gently strummed acoustic melody create a Hawaiian summery feel. The vocal work is smooth with the muted melody leaving Shunsuke firmly within a comfort zone, but despite the quite lovely chilled out quality these vocals offer the true joy is in the melody - those sliding guitar effects have an almost Pink Floyd sound to them at times. This becomes noticeable in the instrumental bridge, a fantastic stripped down electric guitar solo that on first listen makes one think of 'Wish you were here'. This is not to suddenly elevate Shunsuke to such a legendary level but it makes Boku no Mainichi one of the finer and more interesting ballads to have been heard in a while.

Kiyokiba Shunsuke continues to surprise and continues to grow in strength as a solo artist. Boku no Mainichi shows some fantastic inventive direction as a singer-songwriter. Despite falling well within the comfort zone of his genre, he is consistently good within it and manages to create something special each time.